Enthusiast captivated by the glow of the Moon

In 1954, Duane Steck bought a new Chevrolet sport coupe and set out to create the perfect custom car.

The young Los Angeles commercial artist had a keen eye for design and the car was reshaped in the driveway of his family home in suburban Bellflower.

The results were a long, low sleek body with a lowered roof line that received international attention.

It was featured on the cover of Car Craft magazine in January 1957 and Custom Car magazine in March 1960.

Steck’s custom influenced a whole genre of custom cars in Southern California and beyond beginning in the late 1950s. That influence continues today with Duane Steck’s Moonglow generally regarded as one of the best custom cars of all time.

When first completed in late 1955, Moonglow was painted ice box white with powder blue accents complimented by a blue and white tuck and roll interior. The car would go through four rebuilds over the next few years with different looks and paint schemes.

Longtime North Shore custom car enthusiast Graeme Tait was captivated by Moonglow in its later version when it was painted blue.

In 1996, Tait bought a rust-free 1954 Chevrolet sport coupe that originated in Riverside, Calif. and set out to build a tribute to everyone’s favourite custom car.

What ensued was a 10-year-long project that took an estimated 6,000 hours to complete. The car was stripped to its bare frame so all the tribute high-end version of custom touches could be fabricated and completed.

Just like the original Moonglow, the roof of the Chevy hardtop was lowered, almost all exterior chrome trim removed and custom touches added including 1956 Chrysler tail lights inverted and moulded in, frenched 1953 Ford headlights and dozens of other body modifications.

The car was painted “candy” blue and upholstered in white tuck and roll vinyl accented with bright blue carpets. True to the original Moonglow, power comes from a modified six-cylinder Chevy engine coupled with a modern four-speed overdrive transmission. Driving and safety is enhanced with modern power steering and disc brakes along with airbag suspension. Air conditioning adds to cabin comfort.

Once the car was completed, it was instantly recognized as one of the best Moonglow tribute cars ever built. Tait received many trophies for shows in both Canada and the United States. The latest win was in California at the Santa Maria-West Coast Custom Show, which is recognized as tops in the U.S. with at least a dozen big name entries.

The Moonglow tribute car was a feature car at a summer show at Shipbuilders Square on North Vancouver’s waterfront where its owner displayed his car alongside others owned by friends he attended West Vancouver High School with a half-century ago.
Ironically, Tait’s first car in his early high school years was a 1951 Chevy two door sedan. He quickly graduated to a 1932 Ford coupe hot rod and then dozens of other special interest cars including Corvettes and Camaros.

But the Moonglow tribute car is his crowning achievement as he set out to create a custom car with the sleek custom of look of Duane Steck’s original that was among the first to receive international attention.

Sadly, the original Moonglow did not have a long life. After a series of five rebuilds and new looks over five years, Duane Steck’s famous custom was traded in on a new $2,400 1961 Austin “bug eye” Sprite. Steck got only $450 for his custom car.
A few years later, his brother saw the car heading for the scrap yard crusher near the Los Angeles harbour.

The original and very famous Moonglow would be lost forever leaving only tribute cars like the one created by Graeme Tait to keep the memories alive.

Alyn Edwards is a classic car enthusiast and partner in Peak Communicators, a Vancouver-based public relations company. Contact him at aedwards@peakco.com